“Tibetan Lady” Thomas Parr, Darjeeling 1890s, Albumen print PHOTOGRAPHY AND TIBET by Clare Harris, Reaktion Books (2016) The whole business of “Tibet Photography” might have started out as a commercial …
In Focus On The Roof Of The World
Tibetan Restaurant Culture: Origins and Evolution
The Russian explorer Nikolay Przhevalsky in 1878 described Lhasa as the “Rome of Asia” We know that since time immemorial, an unending stream of pilgrims, mendicant and merchants flocked to that city particularly during the period of the New Year and the Monlam festival. Early accounts even refer to Armenians, Pebouns (Newari), Casimiris (Muslims), Mongols, Chinese …
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Why Momos Matter
I guess most of us need cheering up this week. The only comfort food I know that might just begin to do that is a plate of steaming momos. Even writing about it makes me feel a little more positive and hopeful than I did a moment ago. I am also writing this post to celebrate …
The Wandering Goddess
This article first appeared in Lungta No 15, The Singing Mask, Echoes of Tibetan Opera. I must thank the guest editor, Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy, and editor (and leading Tibetan scholar) Tashi Tsering for their invaluable help and guidance. The Wandering Goddess Reviving and Sustaining the Spirit of Ache Lhamo in Exile JN as the “village idiot” …
Sipping The Nectar of the Eastern Himalayas
Lachenpa (or Lachungpa) couple of northern Sikkim enjoying their evening Pahi drink. Photo Dr. Alice S. Kandell (between 1965 & 1971) The Anabasis of Xenophon – not to be confused with Anabasis Alexandri, the biography of Alexander the Great – is the story of the epic retreat of a Greek (mercenary) general, Xenophon, and his …
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Biting Into a Juicy Momo Mystery
After I posted my piece on Shabalay last November I thought I was done with writing on food culture for a while. But the manager of Little Tibet Restaurant sent me this urgent email: Tashi Delek Jamyang la,We have a momo crawl coming up soon in Jackson Heights where local businesses compete for a trophy …
Resurrecting a Lost Homeland
A review of the film:BRINGING TIBET HOME (2014)Directed by Tenzin Tseten Choglay,Produced by Tenzing Rigdol and Tenzin Tseten Choglay Tenzing Rigdol laying out his “Soil Installation” at TCV on Oct 25, 2011 For a shoe-string budget film, Bringing Tibet Home is surprisingly rich and multi-layered. The basic story concerns a “site-specific” art installation of a …
Frying Up a Revolution
We were having dinner at the very cosy Little Tibet Restaurant at Jackson Heights last month. Someone insisted I try a Shabhalay from a plate he had ordered. It’s not my favorite food. The shabhalays I had eaten before had largely been products of institution kitchens (chi-thab): too oily, the dough wrap too leathery, stuffing …
A Cup of Tea And a Slice of Art, Please
Sweet Tea House artists in 1985. Gonkar Gyatso is fourth from left. Emerging from the aftershocks, debris and trauma of the Cultural Revolution a loose-knit group of young Lhasa artists in the early and mid-eighties decided to come together to better utilize their individual creativity and to promote their own works. They joking called themselves …
Gateway to Lhasa
In my post “Lhasa: Eternal City 2”, I mentioned how the destruction of the Drago Kaling Stupas, the Gateway to Lhasa, had inspired the first “protest” song in the Tibetan freedom movement. I requested readers to help me locate the original song sung by Dadon la. Two readers, Tenzin la (in exile) and another person …
